An Aisle Seat at the State of the Union Is No Easy Task

ENLARGE

Obama shakes hands along the aisle after last year's State of the Union address.
Associated Press

By

Tennille Tracy

Feb. 12, 2013 4:56 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—To reach the podium for his State of the Union address tonight, President Barack Obama will enter the House of Representatives chamber at about 9 p.m. and make his way down the center aisle.

That's where a group of lawmakers will be waiting for him, having staked out their seats many hours in advance. Known by Washington insiders as "aisle huggers" or "aisle hogs," they claim seats along the center aisle well before the speech for the chance, in front of millions of television viewers, to shake hands with the president and perhaps share a private word.

Seats are awarded on a first-come basis, so lawmakers have to show up early and wait patiently in the otherwise empty room. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D., Ga.), who had occupied an aisle seat by 10 a.m. Tuesday, brought an iPad and several newspapers.

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State of the Union

"My constituents express a great deal of pride in knowing and being able to recognize their representative being there with the president," he said. "They tell me they'll be looking for me in my seat."

Mr. Bishop said he had secured an aisle seat for each of the last three presidential addresses.

Technically speaking, lawmakers aren't supposed to save their seats for the speech. But by noon on Tuesday, some members had used coats and bags to secure their places.

Former Rep. Dale Kildee (D., Mich.), who had been one of the regulars before he retired earlier this year, said he had snagged an aisle seat for every State of the Union address since Jimmy Carter was delivering them.

"You're shaking hands with someone who, under our Constitution, has a great deal of power," Mr. Kildee said.

President George W. Bush once asked Mr. Kildee how he managed to get a spot on the aisle year after year. "I told him, 'I just get there early,' " Mr. Kildee said.

Mr. Kildee's nephew, Dan Kildee, won his uncle's seat in the House but doesn't plan on taking a seat near the aisle. "Congressman Kildee does not anticipate getting there as early as his uncle did," spokesman Mitchell Rivard said.

An aisle encounter with the president lasts only a few seconds, but the bond it can create is valuable, Mr. Bishop said. During one of Mr. Bush's speeches, Mr. Bishop, a Democrat, stood up and applauded during a reference to the military that pleased mostly Republicans. After the speech, Mr. Bush singled him out.

"As he came back up the aisle after the speech, he said to me, 'I saw you stand up,' " Mr. Bishop said. "He had seen me."

In 2012, as Mr. Obama made his way down the aisle, he gave a shout-out to Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), another regular face along the aisle who was packed in a tight crowd. "I was wondering," Mr. Obama said. "Where's Eliot?"

An interaction with the president can also backfire, though. When Ohio Republican Jean Schmidt lost a primary race last year, some pundits were quick to blame a peck she gave Mr. Obama after she had staked out an aisle seat for his 2012 address.

Many of the familiar faces from along the aisle of past years have retired or lost their re-election campaigns. Mr. Bishop said he was confident he would see new faces join him in the chamber.

"I'm sure we'll have some other members who are actively looking to occupy those seats," Mr. Bishop said.

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